What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an integral part of the rapid growth of complementary therapy in NZ. With an increasing number of people seeking acupuncture treatment it is important for patients and healthcare professionals to understand the difference between the two styles most commonly on offer.
Acupuncture as practiced by members of the New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists (NZRA) is an holistic approach to health based on over 2,000 years of development and refinement in the Far East. The tradition is as much about the maintenance of health as the management of disease. Western or medical acupuncture is a more recent development practiced predominantly by doctors and physiotherapists which uses acupuncture techniques within their existing scope of practice on the basis of a western medical diagnosis.
Although sometimes described merely as a means of pain relief, traditional acupuncture is actually used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms. The skill of an acupuncturist lies in their ability to make a traditional diagnosis from what is often a complex pattern of disharmony. The exact pattern and degree of disharmony is unique to each individual and so following diagnosis, the acupuncturist puts together a personalised treatment plan.
According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the body's motivating energy - known as qi - moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of meridians (channels) beneath the skin. The flow of qi can be disturbed by many factors, physical, mental and emotional: anxiety, stress, anger, fear or grief, poor nutrition, weather conditions, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma. By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy, an acupuncturist can stimulate the body's own healing response and help to restore its natural balance.

Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in activating the body's own healing response to a wide variety of conditions; the following list is based on some of the World Health Organisation recommendations.
 

Acid Reflux	Enlarged Prostate	Morning Sickness
Addiction	Haemorrhoids	Osteoarthritis
Allergy	Hair loss	Osteoporosis
Arthritis	Hay fever	Pain
Asthma	Headaches	Period pain
Anxiety	High blood pressure	P.M.S
Breech babies	Infertility	Polycystic Ovaries
Carpal Tunnel	Injuries	Post-natal depression
Chronic Fatigue	Insomnia	Psoriasis
Concussion	Impotence	Sciatica
Constipation	Irritable bowel	Sinusitis
Contusion	Joint Pain	Sperm disorders
Depression	Labour preparation	Stop smoking
Diabetes	Low back pain	Stress
Dizziness	Low libido	Tiredness
Drug side effects	Menopause	Tennis Elbow
Eczema	Miscarriage	Weight loss